How Adidas Originals uses social media

Social media is a natural extension of Adidas’s wider approach to marketing, especially when it comes to creating hype around its high-profile collaborations.

Since the brand famously snatched Kanye West from Nike in 2014, it has carefully crafted a series of product launches, cleverly building on the rapper’s wider (and fanatical) fan base.

Tweeting and posting on Instagram in the run-up to shoe releases, the brand creates massive excitement and interest from followers.

Meanwhile, from Pharrell Williams to Stella McCartney, Adidas Originals is also shrewd in terms of how it collaborates with high profile personalities. Unlike other brands, who might merely use celebrities to front campaigns, Adidas put a huge focus on the personal and direct involvement of influencers in the actual designing process.

In doing so, it ensures its collaborations feel entirely authentic rather than purely sales-driven.

Again, this is reflected in how it posts on social, continuously reinforcing the core topic of originality and creative and artistic expression.

Adidas’s resurgence truly began with the relaunch of its iconic Stan Smith shoe. Not only did this draw on feelings of nostalgia, but by emphasising its heritage, it also helped to reinforce the brand’s influence on streetwear and subcultures such as Brit pop and hip-hop.

The social media campaign surrounding its release cleverly made consumers feel part of the story.

The ‘Stan Yourself’ initiative involved asking users to tweet a photo of themselves for the chance to win a personalised pair of shoes.

Likewise, the Adidas Originals Instagram feed (also with more followers than the main account) typically makes use of imagery from musicians, fashion designers and models to reinforce its tagline of ‘We Are Originals’ – including the consumer in the collective ‘we’.

Using influence and artistic expression, Adidas Originals has managed to make its brand relevant again.

By delivering its message on social media in a natural and authentic way, it has truly connected with a new and highly engaged young audience.

This customer focus has been integral to the success of Adidas Originals in recent years, with the brand aiming to create conversation about youth and street culture rather than simply promoting its products.

One example of this is the brand’s recent series of live events called TLKS. Featuring high profile influencers within fashion and music, each one was streamed live on Facebook, while giving fans a unique opportunity to relate to Adidas on an experiential level.